Brace yourselves, this is a bit of a lengthy newsletter – but justifiably so in my opinion…so grab a cuppa and settle in! 😊  

What a busy (and extremely wet!) month it has been, but let’s be thankful that Spring has sprung, the days are getting longer, and there now seems to be races every weekend, with GBRC members coming out in big numbers.

Some highlights from the month include;  

The Grizzly which saw an intrepid group of GBRC runners make their way down to Seaton to take place in this now iconic 20 miles of beaches, stones, trails, hills, steps and bogs! Great fun was had by all, both in the race and the socialising before and after.

To highlight just two particular performances; Doug McGillivray did what he does best and delivered a brilliant 25th place overall, and great to see Phil Presland successfully complete a tough 20 miles off the back of a lengthy and difficult period of recovery from injury….and still be smiling at the end!    

On the same day, a quite different event of the same distance was The Essex 20 where Charlie Keitch, Chris Warren and Paul Davison took on a slightly breezy 4 laps of Debden Airfield. A successful day all round, with the GBRC boys all finishing within 3 mins of each other. Charlie and Paul both scored big PB’s and Chris achieved a 3^rd place in his age category to take an Essex County bronze medal. Well done to all.

Dave Wrights 7.5 & 15 miler where Josh Beaumont delivered a cracking 2^nd place in the shorter  distance, and I think it is clear he gave it all he had!

There were also great performances from Charlie Keitch, Richard Heath, Gerry Gladden and Tim Clifton in the full 15 miles – despite the wet weather and massive puddles!    

Brentwood Half saw another good GBRC turnout, with a number of men (and lots of GBRC ladies!) stretching their legs on an ‘undulating’ but really enjoyable course.

I know lots of people have been doing these longer distances as part of London Marathon preparations – so wishing everyone running London in just 3 weeks’ time the best of luck and hopefully an enjoyable, memorable (and dry!) experience.  

As always loads of other great performances and enjoyable running at Parkruns all over the country, and various other races during the month – too many to mention but covered superbly by our weekly race reports during the month. A big thank you to all our reporters for what they do each week.

It may seem a distant memory now, but we had a great NESS Cross-Country (XC) season, coming 3^rd in Men’s Pool A, and we want to celebrate this achievement. You should already have the date in your diary for Saturday 15^th April for the XC celebrations, where we will kick-off with meeting up at Markshall to do Parkrun and then going for breakfast after. In the evening we will get together again in Colchester for a meal and a few drinks – and announce the Men’s XC runner of the year.

It would be great to see lots of you join us, either at both or just Parkrun or just the meal.  So, please could you email Rob Dyer at; robdyer@humanoid.net to let him know if you can attend. Please be clear if it is just Parkrun, just the Meal, or if you can do both. Please do this by Monday 10^th April so we can get a table booked.

We will of course also need you to vote for Men’s XC runner of the year (even if you can’t join us on the day). Below is a summary of the GBRC Men’s Performances so please use this to help you make your decision, and again email Rob to cast your vote. You can only vote once and don’t forget its not just about speed and placing, its about overall performance and improvement for that individual and the GBRC team. Votes need to be again emailed to Rob (robdyer@humanoid.net) by Thursday 13^th April at the latest.    

As a reminder, the GBRC Annual General Meeting will take place this coming Wednesday (5^th April) at Great Bentley Village Hall, and it would be great to see lots of you there. We start with a short easy run round the village, and then everyone comes back to grab a cuppa and we share with members a round-up of the previous year by each of the committee members. It’s a great way to see a bit more about what makes the club tick behind the scenes, see the commitment and hard work of the committee, and of course ask any questions you might have.  

There are a number of changes to the committee this year, with people standing down, people moving to new roles, and some new people joining the committee. Whilst there will be more on the night, I’d like to acknowledge a few in this newsletter;

• the massive contribution of Paul Carlisle, who has been Chairperson for the last few years and worked tirelessly to promote, protect, and steer the club through some difficult times.  Paul has been instrumental in maintaining relationships within the village (and beyond),  growing our membership, and helping us find our way safely through COVID – and out the other end. This has always been done with a smile and a great sense of humour and thankfully he has managed to stay fully clothed (at least most of the time!). I’m so pleased Paul will remain a key part of the club and take up a role as Vice-Chairman (taking over from Sue McKay – who has also been a wonderful asset to the committee, and I’m happy to say will also remain involved in the club).  
• the commitment and dedication of Scott Young who is standing down as Race Director – a role that we have now split into 3, so that shows you how hard Scott has worked. Whilst it is a team effort to put on our Half Marathon, Friday 5 and XC races, there needs to be someone leading from the front and Scott has done this brilliantly – not only the bit you all see on the day of the race but all the necessary administration, discussions, negotiations and organising in the background. I know Scott will support the new Race Directors and share his wisdom and expertise with them, whilst also enjoying a bit of a well earned rest.
• the hard-work of Fraser Lewis who has been joint Men’s Captain for the last 12 months, and thrown himself into supporting the club in so many ways. Fraser is stepping back from the role to take on new responsibilities at work (congrats on your promotion!), but I know will continue to support our numerous events throughout the year and carry on putting us through our paces at the great coaching sessions he does (I know he secretly enjoys watching us all suffer on that track!)         

Rob Dyer will continue in the role of Men’s Captain, and as I step into the massive shoes of Paul C as the new Chair (gulp!), we will have a new Men’s Vice-Captain announced at the AGM.

So, finally, onto our male Runner of the Month for March. This was a unanimous decision to recognise someone who has always been a great runner and regular at races but seems to have stepped it up a notch over recent months smashing PB’s, gaining 5-star standards, and being super consistent every time he pulls on that blue vest.  

Just this month he has had a near 4 minute PB at Essex 20, and a PB and Top 10 performance in Dave Wright’s 15 miler. A really committed club member, who is regularly storming round the track on a Thursday evening, its great to see someone achieving great things and clearly enjoying their running.   

Charlie Keitch, you are the March ROM – well done, and keep up the great work!